Category: MD Course Played Number

  • Man O’ War, GlenRiddle Golf Club, Berlin,Maryland – Wonderful Course and Wonderful People

    Like many of the Ocean City golf courses, this one is excellent and a little more expensive during the summer vacation months, but probably worth going unless your spouse has you on a tight golf budget. Barry and I hit the course yesterday and enjoyed some great golf even though the scores weren’t very impressive. Generally speaking, the course was in great shape.

    So where to start? Prior to the round I did some online research starting with satellite imagery that I could include in my video. The imagery reflected a considerable amount of water on the course so I loaded the bag with extra balls. Only was of them was called up into service as most of the water, from the silver tees, was generally not an issue unless you hit a truly terrible shot or didn’t review the on-cart GPS hole layouts before your shots. Barry went through a couple more than I did but we also found a few balls that appeared to have been used very little.

    After collecting the satellite imagery, which always fails to reflect the true relative size of the greens and fairways or the undulations and elevation changes of the tee boxes, fairways and greens, I reviewed some of the YouTube videos of the holes. There are many good ones available, but even they don’t give you a complete picture of the character of the course – though I recommend you take a look at them. I believe they all underplayed to hills and hummocks that are on the course. I have little hope that my video, when I get it completed and posted, will add something beneficial to viewers and future Man O’ War players.

    When I arrived at the course, I found the entire staff friendly and engaging, with many talking with pride about the course and its history as a thoroughbred horse farm and training center. The barn was converted into the clubhouse and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and portions of the track, starting gate and water tower have been preserved.

    As I had arrived early after a long drive, I headed off to the driving range to loosen up and found an endless supply of balls, included in the price of the round, and an all-grass range, which I love. After a “small bucket,” I putted a little on the large adjacent green for ten minutes or so until Barry arrived.

    A short time later we were on the first tee and off to the races. The short version of the story is that I scored better on the front than Barry, possibly due to my extra warm-up time. I had a 42 with three pars and six bogeys while Barry shot a 48.

    Barry settled down after the turn just as my wheels started coming off. I went double bogey, bogey, triple bogey and quadruple bogey on the first four holes while Barry played well with three bogeys and a double. Fortunately, I found my bearing again and finished up well. Barry finished with a 97 and I had a 93. You can see the scorecard below.

  • Crashed and Burned – Compass Pointe Golf Course – South/West, #16

    For every great round of golf I suspect there is an equal number of bad rounds and some of them are going to be traumatic. Today was that day. Barry, Rick and Sam joined me at the South/West course of Compass Pointe on what most people would consider a great day in Maryland in July. Those of us having one of the worst rounds they can remember probably really didn’t notice the weather – but it was hard not to notice that the course is beautiful and in great shape. The tee boxes, fairways, greens and even the sand traps were in the best condition of any I’ve played this year. I just wish I could have enjoyed it a little more.

    The course was definitely one of the more difficult that I’ve played recently but that wasn’t the cause of my issues. My ball striking, usually my strength, was consistently pulling the ball left, often with a strong draw sending it into the woods. I’m sure that I lost at least six balls during the round. It very well could have been more. After I go back through the video I’ll have a better idea, but at some point I quit counting and threw the USGA rules out the window. My score of 105 generally speaks for itself but along with the ball count it’s a little fuzzy and could well be higher. I’ll know the real extent of the damage after getting into the video. Producing this one may take a little longer.

    After playing the front nine from the white tees we decided to play the golf tees on the back. On the front, three of us were into the 50s and the other just shy of it. The golds helped out with only me hitting 50.

    I started off with triple bogeys on the first two holes and two balls lost in the woods. Six triples, six doubles, three bogeys and three pars for the round. The three pars were on the last three holes. On those, I hit the fairways, hit the greens and two putted to keep me coming back for more.

    Here’s the scorecard.

    Barry, Clayt, Rick and Sam's scorecard from the Compass Pointe South/West golf course on July 13, 2026, reflectings scores of 96, 105, 102 and 89, respectively.
    Barry, Clayt, Rick and Sam, Compass Pointe South/West, 13 July 2026

    And here’s the video. Clayt

  • Wicomico Shores is a Hidden Gem – Maryland Course #15

    Why have I not heard of this course before? Probably because it takes it takes a while to get there. It’s a par 72 hidden in Mechanicsville in St. Mary’s County. It took me under 90 minutes to get there but it was worth the drive. Prior to going I made some “flyovers” of each hole using Google Earth so that my video of the round would show an overview of the hole before seeing the shots. The Google Earth shots did not do the course justice. It was much more beautiful in person. The satellite shots were obviously taken in winter when the trees are bare and the grass is brown and the topography is completely lost. This place was so green and hilly, and the sand traps and greens were well cared for and in great shape – though the greens were pretty slow.

    One of the things I forgot about this time of year was the number of kids out of school and out hitting the courses during the week. Up until now, I was acustomed to kids being in school, adults working and just us seniors out on the course. That has now changed. On the plus side, I had the good fortune of catching up with two “kids,” Matt and Reed, on the third hole and they agreed to let me tag along. I was solo on this outing as the regular players in our group all begged off on the road trip as if it were to another state. Their loss on this one, though I will talk the course up and see if we can get a group there. After the round I discovered that GolfDay had ranked Wicomico Shores as the 35th best public course in Maryland. I haven’t played all of the first 34 but they might be selling this one short.

    Matt, Reed and I didn’t take the round too seriously. I played reasonably well from the whites though my 92 isn’t going to lower my handicap. Putting is still a little shaky with six three-putts, though I do think I’m getting more comfortable with the new Odyssey putter. Most of those were the result of very weak first putts from long distance and uphill. That’s something I need to work on. On the plus side I had a birdie and hit eight fairways and seven greens in regulation. On the negative side, I lost two golf balls and scored an 8 and a 9 on two of the par 5s.

    Matt and Reed reported their scores, with a smile, as 64 and 70, respectively. I’m not sure if they kept score after about the 13th hole and even though I’m not a golf rules expert I’m pretty sure they weren’t following all of them…

    Here’s the video.

    And here’s my scorecard. Notations in red were made after the round. Highly recommend making the drive to this course. I imagine it’s even more beautiful in the fall.

    Clayt's scorecard from Wicomico Shores Golf Course, Mechanicsville, MD, on 29 June 2026, reflecting a total score of 92.
    Clayt’s scorecard, Wicomico Shores, 29 June 2026

  • Maryland Course #14, Carroll Park Golf Course, Baltimore, June 2026

    This is our 14th course on our way to playing every golf course (that will let us on) in Maryland – over 100. Baltimore’s Carroll Park is a nine hole par 34/68 “executive” course that opened in 1923. It has seven par 4s and two par 3s, and measures 2787/5574 from the blue tees, 2593/5186 from the whites and 2536/5072 from the reds. The course is wedged between I-95 and US Route 1 in an industrial area so truck and train noise is pretty much a constant.

    Barry, Rich and I teed off around 9:30 on a Friday and the course was pretty open. Just in front of us was a foursome of kickball golfers who let us play through on the second hole. Their holes are marked with blue flags so you’ll see those and soccer balls throughout the video.

    The day turned out to be much hotter than expected, reaching 99 degrees by the time we got off the course. A constant breeze, relatively low humidity and riding in carts certainly made the round much more bearable. I also commend the staff for keeping coolers of cold water throughout the course.

    There are no water hazards on the course and relatively few sand traps – though I found two of them and Barry enjoyed the same one twice. All of the traps that I had a chance to see were in good condition. Beside the wooded areas adjacent to some holes, the biggest hazard was the ankle-high to calf-high grass in some of the tree lined holes. Hitting into those areas made it difficult to find your ball easily. I lost two balls in there was I gave up after a quick look and didn’t want to slow the round down.

    The greens were a little on the small side but seemed well maintained and rolled slow but well.

    We played from the blue tees as the white tees were a little short for us. Rich only played the front nine and finished with a 46. Barry and I played 18. Barry finished with an 87 while I shot a 90. Now that I’ve seen the course twice, I believe I could play it much smarter than I did this time. The course looks pretty wide open but there’s a definite premium in keeping it in the fairway on your tee shot even if it means clubbing down and losing some distance.

    Recommend you get out there and play.

    Carroll Park scorecard – front, June 2026
    Carroll Park scorecard – back, June 2026

  • Clifton Park Golf Course, Baltimore, Course #13, June 8, 2026

    Bill, Rick and I ventured into Baltimore to play Clifton Park. The land was once owned by Johns Hopkins and his “summer house” mansion still graces the park adjacent to the golf clubhouse. A couple of sources indicate the course was opened in either 1915 or 1920. At least five other courses were previously built in the Baltimore area, all private and exclusive, but this course remains the oldest course in Maryland the public can play. On the journey to play every course in Maryland (that will let me on), this is the 13th course.

    In some ways this is the most interesting course I’ve played so far. You can tell it has history and that the course was primarily built by pick and shovel and not by moving around tons and tons of dirt. The course follows the natural contours of the land and has small tee boxes, sand bunkers and greens. The fairways and greens are in good shape. There are no water hazards but several places where you can lose a ball and plenty of mature trees to knock your ball down if you get too close. The cart paths – not sure if they were added later but I’m thinking it’s likely – are only near the tee boxes and greens, probably to minimize wear and tear and to get you going in the right direction. And then there’s the mansion anchoring the center of the course and an old cemetary on the right side of the 14th hole.

    For me, this course is a “must play” if you’re interested in playing only the “important” courses in Maryland.

    My round from the gold tees (5364 yards) went well mostly because I successfully hit a series of “miracle” recovery shots that landed on the green after hitting a problematic drive. Watch the video to see how many trees I hit over. My score of 85 on a par 71 was better than what you’d expect from my drives. The course was less forgiving to Rick, scoring a 52 on the front before he had to leave. Bill opted to enjoy life and forego any scoring.

    By the numbers. I didn’t lose any balls – almost always a good sign. I only hit the fairway in regulation three times but hit the green seven times. I only had a single one-putt, 13 two-putts and (sadly) four three-putts. No birdies, six pars, 10 bogeys and two double bogeys. In my own unofficial handicap calculations, this score brought it down to a 17.6.

    The nine-hole course at Carroll Park is scheduled to be our 14th course. We’ll probably play it twice that day. I’ll post the scorecard and video when it’s done. In the meantime, here the card and video for Clifton Park. Highly recommend you go there and play.

    Clayt and Rick's scorecard from their round at the Clifton Park Golf Course on 08 June 2026, with notations about what clubs Clayt used and how many putts he took on each hole.
    Clayt and Rick’s scorecard, Clifton Park Golf Course, 08 June 2026

  • Queenstown Harbor – River Course, Maryland Course #12, June 4, 2026

    The River Course at Queenstown Harbor has the reputation of being one of the best courses in Maryland and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Bill, Wendell, Gus and I played from the gold tees which measured a paltry 5,861 yards, far short of the 6,568 for the blue tees and 7,096 for the green. Being an old guy, an 18+ handicap and not being familiar of the course (particularly where definitely not to hit)the course tired me out, finishing with a 96. Having no birdies, just four pars and three lost balls will get you to 96 pretty quickly.

    The course is definitely beautiful and in good shape. The tee boxes, fairways, bunkers and greens were all pretty meticulous. Why does the course also have the reputation of being tough? Well, there’s water, marsh, knee-high grass and large deep bunkers throughout the course and fairly often you can find all of them on one hole. If you’re hitting the ball straight and can put on large, fast greens then this will give you an edge on that $1 nassau. Not to say this isn’t a fun course. It certainly is and we had a great time – primarily because the score didn’t mean anything to any of us. I’d certainly have liked to score better and next time I believe I will, but the beauty of the course, the good company and an occasional good or great shot was all that I needed.

    For those interested in seeing the round at our 12th course, from my point of view, here it is. And the scorecard follows, with my edits in red after I’d had a chance to review the tape. I would never make it on the PGA tour as I’d be disqualified more often than not – I make a mistake on the scorecard fairly often. Sometimes in my favor and sometimes against. On this one I thought I had a triple bogey when I really had a double and I forgot to count the lost ball on the 18th hole. Gained one, lost two. Thought I had a 95, then a 97, then a 96.

    Clayt’s 96, River Course, Queenstown Harbor, June 4, 2026